1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying material transported in a fluid stream and more particularly to an apparatus having particular utility when employed to dry cotton fiber during transport into a cotton gin, the apparatus in the described embodiment mounted on the intake end of a suction tube at a cotton gin and adapted substantially to dry the seed cotton drawn through the suction tube to improve the grade of cotton fiber produced by the gin by facilitating the removal of trash and moisture from the seed cotton prior to any further mechanical manipulation thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
In the cotton industry and more particularly in the ginning of unprocessed, or "seed cotton", to produce bales of cotton fiber, or "lint", the removal of moisture from the seed cotton has long been recognized as important. The cotton bales, upon leaving the gin, are thereafter individually graded and sold to cotton mills where the lint is subsequently blended, cleaned, carded, and spun into yarn for many uses. The grade of the lint is directly dependent upon the quantity of trash remaining therein. Those skilled in the art have long recognized that the harvesting of high moisture seed cotton presents a significant problem with respect to the quality of the lint produced therefrom. More particularly, and as noted in United States Letters Pat. No. 4,143,470 to vandergriff, it has long been known that drying the lint to a low moisture content improved the efficiency of the seed cotton cleaning achieved at the gin. Thus, notwithstanding the mass of leaf trash and stems pervading the seed cotton as a result of mechanical harvesting, lowering of the moisture content of the seed cotton enhances the ability of the ginning process to remove such trash and thereby correspondingly increases the grade of the lint. Seed cotton drying, as now practiced in the industry, utilizes various combinations of driers, from one to several, which are individually disposed at various locations in the ginning process and are employed in combination with assorted other equipment.
The prior art is replete with numerous examples of heaters which are operable to reduce the moisture content of the lint which is processed by a cotton gin. While these prior art devices have operated with varying degrees of success, they have been unsatisfactory in several respects. For example, the suction system currently in use in the industry employs a hot air plenum which is substantially sealingly mounted about a feed or intake conveyor and is operable to impart drying heat to a continuous stream of seed cotton which has been mechanically manipulated by a series of feeder dispensing cylinders which tear and shred the seed cotton. This previous mechanical manipulation, of course, makes the removal of trash more difficult because the trash is shredded finely, and thereby firmly imbedded in the seed cotton. It should be understood therefore, that trash removal under the present practice becomes a much more difficult task.
The inventor has discovered that the application of heat energy to the seed cotton prior to any mechanical manipulation thereof facilitates, or, otherwise has the effect of causing the seed cotton locks to open, thereby having the attendant benefits of permitting the ready removal of increased amounts of trash. This action of "unlocking" the seed cotton permits the early removal of trash prior to any mechanical manipulation of same and has the overall effect of improving the grade of lint produced and thus permits the bales to bring a better price at market. Insofar as the applicant is aware, this has not previously been known.
Another deficiency encountered with respect to the above-identified prior art industrial practice results from characteristics inherent in the individual equipment's design inasmuch as the hot air plenum utilized in such equipment must employ a relatively complex sealing mechanism which is operable substantially to limit the amount of cold ambient air which is drawn into the suction system. This operational requirement to limit the intake of cold ambient air causes the hot air plenum, by necessity, to be mounted in a fixed location over an intake conveyor or other similar device thereby limiting its operational flexibility.
Moreover, another problem encountered with the prior art devices and practices which have been designed for delivering drying air to a gin is the propensity for these mechanisms to exhibit a characteristic inability to cooperate with other devices in the gin in the same or adjoining work stations.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have an apparatus for drying material transported in a fluid stream and which is operable, in the described embodiment, to deliver a predetermined volume of drying air to a conventionally designed gin; the apparatus of the subject invention adapted to dry seed cotton delivered to a cotton gin to a low moisture content while simultaneously facilitating the removal of trash and other debris, is both highly efficient in operation and provides maximum flexibility during the operation thereof, is operable to reduce to an absolute minimum the assorted problems associated with the prior art devices and practices, and has the attendant benefit of producing a higher quality lint than has heretofore been possible.